For Coleman, a long journey to BC

Jonathan Coleman knows hard. Coleman is a redshirt freshman wide receiver on the Boston College football team. He made his debut in Saturday's win over Weber State, catching three passes for 98 yards. He's a sophomore in the classroom, trying to balance academics with Division I football. But that's nothing.

Coleman is a redshirt freshman wide receiver on the Boston College football team. He made his debut in Saturday's win over Weber State, catching three passes for 98 yards. He's a sophomore in the classroom, taking courses like adolescent psychology and geoscience and trying to balance academics with Division I football.

But that's nothing.

"I don't feel like it's hard at all," said Coleman. "I'm just doing what everyone else is doing at this school. I do hear kids say, 'Oh, this is hard,' but they don't know what hard is. I just kind of laugh. I didn't even have a childhood. Now I joke around a lot because this is my chance to live what I missed out on."

Coleman was born in Manhattan and spent the first few years of his life there. His mother, Vanci, then moved the family to South Carolina, hoping to find work when she couldn't in New York City. Things didn't work out, however, and the family went back north, settling in a rough section of the Bronx.

It was during that period when Coleman's mother was arrested for drug trafficking. She was trying to get money for her family - Coleman has a younger brother and sister, all from different fathers - and was apprehended by police at the airport. She was given the choice of spending four or five years in prison or doing a one-year boot camp sentence, choosing the latter.

Having never met his father, Coleman moved in with his grandparents in the Bronx. He'd never played sports - he'd never done much playing at all - but his grandfather, Vaughn, introduced him to baseball at 11 years old, and Coleman's athletic life began.

But Coleman showed aptitude beyond the baseball diamond, and the journey that started in Manhattan, took him to South Carolina and then the Bronx, suddenly turned him toward Radnor, Pa. Coleman was a beneficiary of the ABC (A Better Chance) Program that moves gifted underprivileged children from the inner-city to affluent high schools, and so he spent four years in the Philadelphia suburbs.

He played baseball at Radnor High, a pitcher. He played basketball, drawing the attention of colleges ranging from mid-majors like Lehigh to Penn State from the Big Ten. But it wasn't until his senior year that coach Tom Ryan convinced him to play football. After just one season - 489 receiving yards and seven touchdowns - FCS and Division II schools started making offers.

Then came interest from Boston College.

"There was some risk there (because of inexperience), but at the end of the day he'd been through so much in his life that if he said he was going to work then we believed him," said BC wide receivers coach Ryan Day, who recruited Coleman. "He has really no reason to have done so well in his life to this point, to be a good kid and good student with a good work ethic, and he has.

Page 2 of 3 - "I look at my son and people in my life, and then look at what he's been through, and it's just such a credit to him. He's such a special person."

Coleman's choice came down to BC, Penn State and Vanderbilt. He wanted Penn State, but Ryan pointed out that there were already 20 receivers on the roster, and Coleman could easily get lost there. Coleman's grandfather, the one who took him in when his mother was arrested, the one who got him involved in sports, pushed him toward BC because of the school's academics.

Now he almost never leaves.

"Being here I have nothing to worry about," Coleman said. "That's why I don't really like going home. I like staying here during breaks because I know everything is all right here. I know I can eat."

Beyond the cocoon BC provides, Coleman has also found family at the Heights.

"Coach Day has been like a father to me here," he said. "He gets all the receivers and we all go to his house and just chill around. He has his son and we play with his son. As far as football, everything I know is because of Coach Day. He's been my teacher, and some of the older receivers have helped out too.

"Especially Rich (Gunnell) last year, and now Billy (Flutie). He's not the most athletic guy, but he knows so much stuff that's really helped me."

When Coleman made his debut last Saturday his grandparents were in the stands. So was his little brother, who's 11. His mother watched the game online. What they saw was dazzling.

There was a reception for 16 yards in the first quarter, his first collegiate reception. Then there was a 38-yard juggling catch-and-run over the middle. Finally, there was a 44-yard reception down the right sideline when the 6-foot-4, 218-pound Coleman simply outraced the defense.

"Jon did step up," said sophomore quarterback Dave Shinskie. "I told him all he needs to do is catch the ball. He's a playmaker. I'm glad he had a good first game to get those jitters out."

All games might not be as easy for Coleman. He figures to have more trouble getting open against the defenses of Virginia Tech, Clemson and Florida State.

But that's nothing for Coleman. His home life continues to be difficult. His mother was recently evicted and is moving to New Jersey. He understands that football is one means toward a better life, and so too is the academic opportunity he has at BC. He hopes to be a teacher.

"I'm not the only person that's been through this," Coleman said. "I've seen other kids in the Bronx with the same story. For other people, I need to work hard. ... I came this far, so I shouldn't stop now.

Page 3 of 3 - "I'm only 19 and I still have my whole life ahead of me."

(Eric Avidon is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 508-626-3809 or eavidon@cnc.com.)